JOHN WICK: CHAPTER TWO

Keanu Reeves     Ruby Rose     Bridget Moynahan     Ian McShane     Laurence Fishburne    

John Leguizamo     Common     Ricardo Scarmacio     Lance Reddick

     It’s rather amusing that a group that thwarts society’s rules at every turn has a strict set of rules they must follow.  This is the world of crime syndicates, which John Wick (Reeves) became involved in, but is trying to leave it behind.  But Wick owes a debt marked with blood to Santino (Scarmacio), part of a crime syndicate, and Santino wants to extract payment.  No small thing; it’s to kill his sister, Gianni.  Santino wants her seat at the Table of 12, rulers of the syndicate.  But Wick is “out of the business” and refuses to do the job.  Pressure is brought to bear (as in fire-bombing his house), and Wick has no choice but to go to Rome and carry out the assignment.  Because the syndicate is rich and international—once again, with strict rules—Wick is given all kinds of luxurious accommodations (transport, hotel, grooming, and guns) to carry out his task. 

     He goes to Rome, is taken by surprise by Gianni, and Santino’s actions then make the story much more complicated.  The strict rules of the syndicate are broken, Santino is foolish in not listening to Winston’s (McShane) counsel, and so all hell breaks loose.

     The film maintains the momentum of the first film, and keeps us intrigued.  Writer Derek Kolstad made the script intelligent and gripping, throwing in line after line of quotable quotes:  “Death’s very emissary” (Gianni to Wick), “Consider this a personal courtesy” (spoken a number of times), and “What have you done?...Finished it.”  Dan Laustsen’s cinematography is breathtaking to look at on its own, the pièce de résistance, being the last shoot-out in a museum’s hall of mirrors (ironically called Search for the Soul).  And since the director, Chad Stahelski, is a former stuntman, he and his crew have highlighted the fights with masterful choreography.  (There are so many, that without the artful rendition, they would end up being boring.)

     Reeves continues in his ability to portray a powerful action figure with soulful inclinations and heartbreak while still being able to fight off however many adversaries come after him.  Supporting figures offering gravitas (McShane), intrigue (Rose), sleaziness (Scarmacio), depth (Common, Fishburne), and humor (Leguizamo), strengthening the movie’s quality.

     All in all, if the viewer takes to action films—with their obligatory car chases, loud gunfire, and choreographed hand-to-hand combat—John Wick:  Chapter Two will satisfy and please.  For others, it is a well-conceived and engaging story if your ears can take it.

Hold your hats for a crime story ride.

Grade:  B+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE

Voices of:  Will Arnett   Ralph Fiennes   Zach Galifianakis   Michael Cera   Jenny Slate   
Rosario Dawson   Zoe Kravitz     Channing Tatum   Jonah Hill   Jemaine Clement   
Ellie Kemper   Adam Devine   Kate Micucci   Seth Green   Eddie Izzard

     The humanization of Batman (Arnett) turns out to be very funny with glitzy animation and some substance to the message.  As evidenced by audience reaction at the screening, those familiar with DC comics will get many references that fly past those of us who are uninformed.  But even for those unfamiliar with all the Batman comics and movies, this is a flashy, entertaining story that will even pull your heartstrings in places.

Batman is full of himself, depicting the stereotypical male out of touch with his emotions or others’, and needing to be a savior in order to feel good about himself.  He has boxed himself in by shutting everyone else out, thinking he has to do everything on his own, ignoring his own needs for support and connection, and hell bent on being the hero of Gotham City.  His competitiveness with others—including Superman—is not overlooked.

     But the Joker (Gallifianakis) is back on the scene, and is intent on taking over Gotham City.  The police commissioner (Dawson) wants to help, as does Alfred Pennyworth (Fiennes), Batman’s aide, but he puts them off and strikes out on his own.  Someone he can’t put off is an orphan whom he absent-mindedly adopted one day.  Dick (Cera) is entranced with Batman, and insists on following him everywhere and getting outfitted in Batman-like clothes.  Batman tries to brush him off repeatedly, but the little guy is so persistent, Batman starts feeling some attachment to him—not admitting any such thing, of course.

     Themes that are treated both seriously and funny recurring throughout the movie include attachment, responsibility, cooperation, and the joy of play.  Even the Joker can’t get Batman to acknowledge that he is meaningful to him, and his wheedling and arguments with Batman are some of the funniest scenes.  A sense of responsibility outweighs anything else in Batman’s mind, preventing him from accepting help from others and making him actually lonely.  Pennyworth tries his best to get Batman to lighten up, and Dick enthusiastically takes to everything like it’s one big joyous game.  It takes a while for all this to get through to Batman and for him to become aware of his own emotional experience.

     Lego Batman is highly entertaining and visually beautiful, and is not directed toward any one age.  Children and adults should enjoy it for different reasons.  Although many of the references to other DC Comics film productions are likely to go over kids’ heads, there is enough animation and color—and even jokes—to keep them engaged.  Lorne Balfe’s music enhances the different moods of the film, notably playing Three Dog Night’s “One is the Loneliest Number” when Batman returns home and finds he is warming up his dinner and eating alone. 

     Director Chris McKay and the whole Warner Brothers-Lego-DC Comics team deserve the immense pride they most likely take in this production.  The voices of the actors deserve praise as well.

Fine animation with humor, adventure, and thoughtful points for viewers of all ages.

Grade:  A                                     By Donna R. Copeland

THE RED TURTLE

     This visually beautiful and engaging animation from the Ghibli Studio combines fantasy with deep human experiences of loss, loneliness, love, and desperation simply through visual animation, music, and a few shouts.  It reminded me of last year’s Swiss Army Man, with a man stranded on an isolated island showing the value of fantasy in survival, but the feel of the two films is entirely different one from the other. 

     The film opens with a fierce storm on the ocean, and we see a poor figure being tossed about until he is thrown up on the sand.  He is awakened by a crab crawling up his leg, which he rapidly shakes out.  The ever-curious sand crabs reappear from time to time and constitute some of the more humorous moments.  Very clever.  They are sometimes his only companions.

     The man is ingenious at devising ways to survive.  He builds a number of rafts, but most of them get upended by some mysterious creature underneath, which he can never see.  Eventually if appears as a huge red turtle.  The man is furious with it and tries to destroy it, finally turning it on its back so it can’t navigate.  As time goes by and the turtle appears to be dying, the man feels guilty and tries to revive it with water. 

    The charm of this film is to see events gradually unfold, so I’m going to skip any more description of the plot.  It’s best to discover it on your own.  But there is continuing drama and extremely tense moments alternating with blissful happiness.  The Red Turtle is about more than just the turtle, by marking the milestones of human existence that involve significant events in a person’s life.  It could be seen as a fable illustrating fortitude, forgiveness, grappling with fateful events, human values of connection, and inevitable separation. 

     This is the first feature film from Director, Michael Dudok de Wit, who has previously written and directed shorts (The Monk and the Fish, Father and Daughter, and The Aroma of Tea), but all his work is related to human intersection with the world of nature.  Here, he collaborates with French screenwriter Pascale Ferran to create a longer fanciful tale that still maintains his interest in human connections with others and with nature.

Survival at its most fanciful and truthful.

Grade:  A-                                          By Donna R. Copeland

CURE FOR WELLNESS

Dane DeHaan     Jason Isaacs    Mia Goth

     For those who love horror thrillers, this will probably fit the bill.  Less enthusiastic fans, however, may find that although it is strong in the mystery that is set up in the first half with fine cinematography and sound, the last half-hour should have been cut, especially since the film is overly long at 146 minutes.  Director Gore Verbinski and the editors also missed a few inconsistencies, such as a car that has crashed way down into a ravine ends up by the side of the road a few scenes later.

     The story starts out well in setting up the mystery of a man dying suddenly of a heart attack after he reads the guilt-ridden letter of a dear friend/colleague who is CEO of his company and who has fled to a wellness center in Switzerland.  Up and coming, ambitious Lockhart (DeHaan), junior employee in this large U.S. investment firm, has been recognized by the board, which forces him by threat to go to Switzerland and retrieve CEO Roland Pembroke, who needs to take care of some paperwork before a merger with another company can take place.  Time is of the essence, because the company’s stock is falling.

     Lockhart hustles off to Switzerland, expecting to bring Pembroke back in 24 hours.  Then events begin to happen.  Despite his pleas for an expeditious departure, the director of the Center, Dr. Volmer (Isaacs), denies his request to see Pembroke.  Told to come back later, Lockhart leaves to get a hotel and return. However, on the way there, a deer lunges into the road in front of his car, which goes crashing down the hill.  Lockhart ends up with a broken leg and crutches, not waking up until three days later and finding he has been admitted as a patient to the wellness center.  Nevertheless, he is still persistent in trying to get Pembroke on the plane back to the U.S.

     Much happens to prevent this, including his being told by Dr. Volmer that he is not healthy and should be treated for all kinds of ailments, which gradually begin to appear.  He continues his sleuthing, finds Pembroke, and convinces him to fly to the U.S.  While the man is packing his bags, Lockhart meets mysterious Hannah (Goth), a young woman he had seen earlier standing on a ledge high up on the castle looking as if she will jump at any moment.  The film enhances fear by showing extreme threat, then bringing the viewer down to reality.

     A Cure for Wellness is good at keeping the viewer engaged in Lockhart’s investigation of the wellness center, how it keeps its residents there for so long (no one ever wants to leave), and the ultimate outcome for this bright, ambitious man and, eventually the whole story of Hannah.  Unfortunately, it evolves into unbelievable theatrics toward the end that become so implausible the viewer disengages with the main characters and leaves the theater feeling exasperated.  Moreover, an added concern is that the film is likely to increase unjustified suspicions toward research in medical settings, another exaggerated sub-plot.

If only filmmakers of horror movies could restrain themselves before entering the absurd.

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE COMEDIAN

Robert De Niro     Leslie Mann     Danny DeVito     Cloris Leachman     Harvey Keitel     Edie Falco     Patti LuPone

     Being truly funny takes talent, and The Comedian misses the mark; there are a few out-loud laughs in it, but mostly it tries to be funny by saying outrageous things nearly always with a sexual reference.  The movie won’t grab you.  Actually, the story is more interesting than the jokes.  Jackie (De Niro) is looking washed up as a comedian with a television sitcom, “Eddie’s Home”, which people have so identified with the actor they want to call him Eddie off stage.  And they either want him to entertain them with more Eddie on the spot (most annoying for him) or try to impress him with their own rendition of the Eddie character. 

     Jackie has gotten a lot of mileage as a stand-up comedian with insults that are supposed to make people laugh, and in his audiences there are as many horrified looks as there are chuckles.  (I suppose we’re supposed to think that is funny as well.)  He’s having a hard time winding down, and as a result has major anger issues, which land him in the clink.  He just can’t shut his mouth.  His agent (Falco in a fine performance) is patient with him as the daughter of his former agent, even though she is the frequent recipient of his bile.  She tries her best to get him to shape up and not insult the people she has gotten to hire him.

     During his post prison community service gig, his path crosses that of Harmony (Mann) with the same anger issues and a daddy complex.  Daddy is wealthy Mac Bernstein (Keitel), whom Jackie finds largely offensive, and the feeling is mutual.  Harmony is resistant to Jackie’s charm—which he can turn on—and his subtle advances, but she finds his comedy so endearing, she weakens. 

     The Comedian has a fine cast who are all at their best.  De Niro, Mann, and Keitel are entirely convincing in their roles.  Leachman is wonderful in her sharp comebacks and the portrayal of a very old star.  De Vito and LuPone make a great older Jewish couple just wanting to give their daughter a beautiful wedding and trying to tolerate Jackie’s dependence on them.  But the deficient script by Art Linson, Jeffrey Ross, Richard LaGravenese, and Lewis Friedman gives them little that actually works, further handicapping the work of Director Taylor Hackford.

     There is a major surprise towards the end, which is meant to give some punch to the emotional and relationship issues, but the very end is marred by blatantly copying the pièce de résistance from another well-known film not so long ago.

This is a rather mundane tragic tale of a comedian.

Grade:  D+                                                By Donna R. Copeland

THE SPACE BETWEEN US

Asa Butterfield     Gary Oldman     Britt Robertson     Karla Gugino     BD Wong     Janet Montgomery

      The Space between Us will surprise and delight you every step of the way.  It starts with the clever—but not too clever—script (Allan Loeb, Stewart Schill, Richard Barton Lewis), then directed almost perfectly by Peter Chelsom, and acted to a tee by Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson, Gary Oldman, Karla Gugino, and the rest of the cast.  The musical score by Andrew Lockington is lyrical and provocative for each scene, and Barry Peterson’s cinematography captures all the beauty of the New Mexican landscape (sometimes with the Albuquerque balloons overhead), the colorful topography of Mars with the clean lines of its space station, and close-ups of the expressive faces of the actors.

     The engaging story starts with the high hopes of the company Genesis and its East Texas mission to put six astronauts on Mars for a long period of time.  Genesis’ founder Nathaniel Shepherd (Oldman) regards the mission as a proud father would his child.  The lead astronaut, Sarah Elliot, eloquently answers the question from press about whether she is afraid, when she acknowledges she is, but she has courage, and “courage is fear that has said its prayers.”

     Unfortunately, sometime after the successful engagement with Mars, Sarah has morning sickness.  Horrors!  She is pregnant, and those in command have to come up with a plan.  This is where Shepherd steps up and makes the decision to keep the information classified.  The doctor on board will deliver her baby, and then they’ll decide what to do after that.  They are aware that the consequences of a baby in utero developing in zero gravity conditions are unknown.

     In addition, scientists in such a situation are not always mindful of human factors that can enter into these circumstances.  For instance, after sixteen years go by, Gardner Elliot is a bright, inquisitive teenager who is going through an identity crisis.  Neither his mother or his father is on board at this point; instead, an astronaut named Kendra (Gugino) is looking after him.  But he wants to know who he is, and realizes that he needs to go to Earth to find out.

     Most of the rest of the story is about this journey filled with tender gaffes and outright comedic situations.  Gardner has started an online friendship with Tulsa (Robertson), a cheeky, talented earth-girl who has been orphaned and placed in foster homes so many times she knows more about life than her foster “parents.”  He is determined to find her and get her help in finding his father. 

     Much of the wit of the film is seeing the jaded Tulsa meeting the sincere Gardner, and trying to comprehend who he is (Ah, he is from Mars!) and helping him understand earth and its customs. 

     I loved the constant plane/bus/stolen automobile chases—that mimic action films with their mandatory loud car chases—with Shepherd and Kendra always trying to locate the runaways Gardner and Tulsa.  This intelligent, well crafted and presented “action” film should please everyone.

Everything fits together so beautifully in this film, you want to cheer at the end.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE FOUNDER

Michael Keaton     Laura Dern     Nick Offerman     John Carroll Lynch     Patrick Wilson     Linda Cardellini

       Such an ironic title, as one finds out by the end of this dramatization of Ray Kroc (Keaton), the known founder of the McDonald hamburger franchise.  This film is noteworthy in telling the story of how that came to be and the people involved, of which most of us were doubtless unaware.

          Kroc starts out as a door-to-door salesman and schemer of investment projects, many of which were groundless for potential.  His weary wife (Dern) has become skeptical of his harebrained schemes, and simply wants to continue their comfortable golfing country club life with friends.  Kroc is currently trying to sell a milkshake maker that is supposed to speed up the process considerably, but we see doors shut in his face over and over.  Then he gets a message that a restaurant in California wants to order 6-8, so drives pell-mell from St. Louis to the one and only McDonald’s Drive-in owned by brothers Dick (Offerman) and Mac (Lynch) McDonald. 

          This is in the 1950s, when all the drive-ins had curb-hops who took your order and brought your food on a tray that attached to your car.  Ray eats most of his meals at drive-ins, and we see him get annoyed when his order gets mixed up in one way or another.  One of the funniest moments in the film is the screenwriter’s (Robert D. Siegel) portrayal of Ray’s first visit to McDonald’s (with golden arches), where he has to get out of his car, wait in line, place his order, and receive it in a paper bag and cup.  Befuddled, he finally realizes that he must eat it in his car or on a park bench.  When he finds the hamburger is delicious, he immediately goes to talk to the owners.  But he has more in mind than simply their order of the milkshake machines; he wants a tour of their business, which they readily do, showing that speed and natural ingredients are secrets to their success.

         Ray immediately asserts himself by offering numerous suggestions for increasing their business, most of which the brothers decline to accept.  After much pressure, though, they finally give in to the idea of franchising McDonald’s.  They had tried this before, but gave it up because quality control could not be maintained.  Ray counters their objections by offering to play that role, and assuring the McDonalds that he would oversee operations at all the franchises.  The McDonald’s produce a contract that stipulates that all changes in the franchises must be approved by them.

            The McDonalds continue to deny almost all of Ray’s suggestions, and in frustration, he begins to ignore them and do with the franchises whatever he pleases.  Of course, this all comes to a head and we hear the end of the plus/minus story. 

         Siegel’s screenplay continues his fine writing skill (The Blind Side, Turbo, The Wrestler) in presenting a script that avoids the potential for being boring (business, sales) by focusing on the personality of the lead and its subtle transformations across time, and the story’s relevance for contemporary times.  Keaton’s realization of Ray’s character is marked by a combination of charisma, self-interest, and willingness to slight the ethics of his behavior.  It’s a little akin to his Birdman role, without the imagination shown in that film, but Keaton’s performance is just as good. 

         Director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks) knows just how to bring the screenplay to life and show how the film is a part of American corporate history as well as McDonald’s specifically.  It moves at a good pace, always keeping our interest and fascination with the subject and the characters high.

          Kroc is to be credited with the commercialization of the hamburger business, much to the McDonalds brothers’ dismay.  He converted it into a real estate business (Franchise Realty Corporation) by buying all the properties on which the franchises were located, introduced “unnatural” powdered ingredients for milkshakes, and expanded the business beyond U.S. borders.  I don’t know, but I imagine there are similar stories to tell about many of our U.S. corporations.

“Fortune favors the bold” – Ray Kroc quote.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland